snugglesandpages's reviews
243 reviews

𝑳𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑷𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒇𝒆𝒍𝒕 𝒂 𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒍𝒆 𝒃𝒊𝒕 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒕 𝒂 𝒃𝒓𝒖𝒊𝒔𝒆. 𝑰𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒑, 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒊𝒕 𝒉𝒖𝒓𝒕. 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒖𝒓𝒕 𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒂𝒔 𝒃𝒂𝒅𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔— 𝒌𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅’𝒔 𝒆𝒏𝒅, 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝒂 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒖𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒘𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆. 𝑰𝒕 𝒇𝒆𝒍𝒕 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒂 𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒅𝒃𝒚𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕, 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒆𝒍𝒔𝒆, 𝒔𝒆𝒕 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒐𝒇𝒇-𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓.

😈

Having read Kelly's debut, THE WHISPERING DARK at the end of 2022 and being in awe of the world she had created, I knew I couldn't pass up the opportunity to read the next in this connected series. 

MY BONES, YOUR BLOOD is an intensely dark and vividly immersive YA gothic fantasy with curses, paranormal entities, minor horror, and a slow-burn childhood friends-to-lovers romance at its core. 

We first met Wyatt in TWD as a supporting character, now she has returned to her childhood estate following the death of her father to burn it to the ground. When Wyatt finds Peter, her first love chained up in the basement, all the dark secrets of her family's history start to unravel and the truth about Peter's existence won't be the only immortal being she will have to face to get out alive. 

Something I remember being a little off balance within Kelly's first book was the (overuse?) of metaphors. I didn't feel that with this one at all. In fact, I was so drawn in and encapsulated by the story, that I was a little emotional when it ended. There are plenty of creepy moments to give you the tingles and Kelly's beautiful prose is perfect for book lovers who love to annotate.

If you read THE WHISPERING DARK, you'll also be happy to know that Lane and her "sleep paralysis demon boyfriend" Colton - and Mackenzie make an appearance too.  

Thank you to the team at Hachette and @lNetgalley for allowing me to read an early copy of this gem. 

'What I Would Do To You' is a standout Aussie debut with a clever and thought-provoking concept that will get under your skin. Going in, I had certain expectations of how the story was going to play out based on the blurb, but it was not at all what I anticipated - and I mean this in a good way. 

The story revolves around the family of Lucy, a 10-year-old girl who was brutally murdered. Her family is now faced with the burden of carrying out the death sentence of the perpetrator. The novel raises questions about the morality of capital punishment and how it affects the people who are responsible for carrying out the sentence. 

What stood out for me was the absence of the murderer's point of view. The novel does not give him a voice or any kind of glorification, which makes the story all the more impactful. The details of what he did to Lucy are only revealed through the reading of the sentencing remarks, and they are so confronting and jarring that I had to close the book and breathe

Oooo I adored this book so much 🥰

I have a soft spot for second chance romance and THE RULE BOOK certainly hit hard. 

The chemistry between the two main characters, Nora and Derek, is electric. Nora's enthusiasm and tenacity are so badass, she is a refreshing character to read with all her quirks only making her even more lovable. I particularly loved the scenes between Nora and her boss and how Nora will stop at nothing to convince her that they are actually friends 😂

Derek is very swoony-worthy. He clearly cares for Nora so much and has been harbouring his regret for how things ended between them in college. Derek's chosen family (team) elevate the fun while pushing him to be better. 

What stood out to me most about this book is the way the characters support each other's success. Nora and Derek have a playful dynamic, but their mutual respect and admiration for each other is evident in every interaction.

There are so many things I want to gush about but if I do, I will spoil it for you as the blurb already gives you a fair amount of context, so all I can say is that if you're looking for a love story that will leave you feeling warm and fuzzy inside, The Rule Book is the book for you.

Thank you to the team at @hachetteaus and @netgalley for the eARC of The Rule Book. The physical book will be joining my trophies very soon 😂

I think it's time to just call it. I LOVE a morally grey female vigilante. Some of my fave books centre around this trope and this one is right up there with its three generations of Miller Women, all with a deadly and dark secret to hide.

The story is broken up into parts, spanning across multiple timelines and told through the voices of the three the Miller Women, Nicola, Abby and Joyce. I think this setup was very effective in giving the reader access into each woman's mind and their precarious pasts. Some scenes may be a bit hard to read (trigger warning: SA), but I was well and truley invested in where it was all leading. 

To quote my book sweetie, @mimireadsbooks, "This book has more twists than a pretzel" 🥨 
Yes, some were predicted, which honestly, I don't mind because they distracted me from the well-planned ’oh sh1t' moments. 

I would love to see The Miller Women return again in the future.

Thank you to @HarperCollinsAustralia and @Netgalley for the eARC of The Miller Women. Kelli Hawkins is an autobuy author for me, so I was super excited to get accepted on this one. 

Also, the audio of this is phenomenal, so if that is your jam, I highly recommend it.

📖 Shay, devastated by the death of her best friend from college, decides to investigate what really happened. She leaves her life behind and reconnects with her childhood friend and true crime podcaster, Jamie and together they delve into the world of sex cults. Shay finds herself once again caught up in the twisted world of domination and desire as she confronts the demons of her past in search of the truth. 

💭 Thoughts: 
I am a sucker for anything cult related so the hype around this book has me excited. I don't know what that says about me, but the way cults operate and the psyche of their 'leaders' just fascinate me. However, the longer I sat on this review (and even contemplated not posting one at all) the more I felt underwhelmed by it all. So much so, that my initial rating changed. 

The Last Housewife is not a comfortable read by any means, and you can absolutely feel that the story was heavily influenced by the high-profile scandal and sex cult that was NXIVM. However, despite the shock factor, I expected more detailed and less censored scenes, given the number of trigger warnings for this book. 

Additionally, some aspects of the story confused me, such as the portrayal of the three women as hardcore feminists, yet they quickly fall for the desire to be controlled and abused by men. This just didn't fit the narrative to me and it was something my brain kept coming back to as the story progressed.

SPOILER: The cheating aspect was also unnecessary and skewed my view of Shay before I even knew her story. If you've read this, I'd love to hear your thoughts on this plotline?

The School Run is a suspenseful suburban thriller set in the picturesque coastal town of Pacific Pines, where three women and their sons compete for a coveted place at the prestigious St. Ignatius Boys School. As the acceptance deadline approaches, nothing is off-limits.
When a boy is struck down in a hit and run, everyone has a motive. Just how far would you be willing to go to secure a future for your son? Would you bribe and lie for it? Would you kill for it? 

Thoughts 💭
Have you ever come across a piece of writing that challenges your moral values? In my opinion, that's a sign of a truly talented writer. When they know how to walk a thin line between right and wrong, captivating their audience and keeping them engaged till the very end. Ali did a fantastic job at pushing those boundaries with both her characters and the reader. 

I enjoyed reading from the POV of all the women; Kaya, Estella and Bec. It was interesting how different they were from one another and how my opinions of them changed as the story progressed, especially Estella. They were all harbouring their secrets and the way the brilliantly executed connections came together made for a satisfying conclusion.

The School Run is out now and is the perfect read for fans of dramatic and domestic suspense thrillers like Big Little Lies. 

With a background in psychology and now a best-selling author and relationship guru, Celia has virtually sold her soul to the influencer scene. As a way to drum up some positive PR, she hosts an exclusive retreat for married couples and newly divorced singles looking for some direction. The location couldn't be more gorgeous than the Sand & Salt Resort in picturesque Byron Bay but it's not long before Celia's retreat goes viral for all the wrong reasons. 

Thoughts: 
This one has a bit of everything... Multiple POV, mystery, drama and a side of romance. It was the perfect read while on vacation.

I enjoyed that each character had their own red flags including Celia. She is such an unlikeable character, as intended, and while it is a relatively 'light' read as far as the genre goes, it was rather fun to sit back and see her fall apart a little. 

I also recently picked up an earlier release of Stephanie's (While the Baby Sleeps) during the last round of stuff your kindle day and am eager to read it. 

A Teenage girl wakes up bloodied and bruised
in a ditch with no memory of who she is or what happened. When Wayne Boone frantically rushes into the station in search of his missing daughter, he has a convincing story and all the evidence to support that the girl is his daughter, incl birth & school records & dozens of photos spanning her childhood. Satisfied the girl has been identified, she is released into Wayne's custody. He looks at her with genuine love and concern & takes care of her the way a father should, but when she starts to have flashes of what feel like memories, they don't match up to the story Wayne has told her. 

In nearby Washington City, seventeen year old Lola has been missing for 5 weeks & the Sheriff is convinced her boyfriend is the only suspect worth investigating. Drew might be public enemy number one, but he will never give up on searching for Lola. Fed up with the Sheriff's inaction, Drew, his cousin Max and Lola's best friend (and Sheriff's daughter) Autumn decide it's time to start digging for the evidence needed to force the case along and bring Lola home, but will they be too late...

💭 Thoughts: 
The setup of this book was so clever and dark that it could almost pass as adult fiction. Dual POV and packed with pulse-racing moments that will keep you flipping the pages, I honestly felt so many emotions reading this. Anger towards the Sheriff for being a lazy SOB, heartbreak for Drew as he navigated the weight of displaced guilt & that eerie overwhelming sensation that something wasn't quite right.

As everything comes together in what seems like an obvious conclusion, the tables turn and you're delivered a massive gut punch instead. I had literal tears rolling down my cheeks by the end. I've not experienced that kind of rollercoaster in a book for a while and to have it while reading a debut YA thriller makes my dark little heart gleeful in how far this genre has come.

This one will live rent-free in my head for a while yet.